Zedekiah had promised allegiance to Babylon, but had then broken that promise and lined up with Egypt (see Jeremiah 37). So Nebuchadnezzar attacked and laid siege to Jerusalem. This brought about terrible starvation. The army and the king fled but were captured by the Babylonian army. Zedekiah was taken to Riblah, he saw his sons killed and then had his eyes gouged out, then he was taken to Babylon.
After this the Babylonians destroyed all the important buildings in Jerusalem, including the temple and palace. Only the poor people were left in the city. All the valuable items in the temple were taken away.Various leaders were taken away and executed.
Gedaliah was left in charge of what remained of Judah. He had followed Jeremiah's non-resistance approach. He encouraged the people to serve Babylon. Now this was not defeatism, but came out of a realisation that the real problem was not the Babylonians but sin. However, after a time there was a rebellion and Gedaliah, along with several others, was killed. Many people fled, knowing the reprisals that would follow.
Jehoiachin was released after some time allowed to live in Babylon and given allowance. This is a rather strange ending to this sorry tale.
When we get to Chronicles we will get a second look at the history of Israel, looking at things from a different angle.
No comments:
Post a Comment